COMMUNITIES

U NETWORK

Budget Calls from Labour Members of Parliament

22 Feb 2019

Story by Jonathan Tan

Workers are at the heart of the Labour Movement.

While policies and initiatives may apply to the majority, the Labour Movement is about amplifying the outcomes through its network to support each and every worker. Through the calls of the Labour Members of Parliament, the Labour Movement is committed to being there for each person at every stage of life, protecting their rights and advancing their interests.

Ahead of the Budget debates that kick off on 26 February 2019 in Parliament, here's a recap of what our Labour Members of Parliament have been calling for workers.

LMPs And Their Budget Calls

Heng Chee How: “Tripartite effort to study better eldercare support and flexible work arrangements for workers”

NTUC Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) Heng Chee How is hoping that tripartite partners can work together to see how eldercare services in the community can be improved, particularly in the areas of availability, quality and affordability.

Doing so would help make it easier for those who are keen to return to work but are unable to do so because of their caregiving responsibilities. A 2017 survey by NTUC’s U Family showed that 63 per cent of stay-at-home-women aged 25 to 54 expressed a desire to return to the work, albeit in a part-time work arrangement.

To better support them, DSG Heng is hoping that tripartite partners can come together to study how flexible work arrangements can be a part of a company’s manpower operations model.

“We need another study on a tripartite basis, through NTUC, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), to see how we can improve upon the current slate of flexible work arrangement measures to make this happen for these workers,” said DSG Heng.

With a view towards better supporting industrial transformation, Deputy Secretary-General Koh Poh Koon hopes to see more ground-up initiatives that promote training and make the outcomes tangible for workers. He said that this will support small-and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporations with industrial transformation.

While a tripartite relationship consists of the Government, employers and workers, he likened the involvement of institutes of higher learning to “tripartite plus”.

“This is the kind of union – the coming together of like-minded stakeholders – that we want to see. This is also what our industry transformation maps hope to achieve. A lot more ground-up efforts signaling the need for change, and the fruits of those labours catalysing it,” he said.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) Melvin Yong’s budget call will focus on how we can have a more robust, multi-pronged approach towards workplace safety and health (WSH) for the benefit of all working Singaporeans.

“Considering the current WSH landscape and our changing demographics, it is timely that we review our existing WSH practices to identify gaps and formulate targeted initiatives to strengthen WSH,” said ASG Yong in a blogpost published on LabourBeaton 21 February 2019.

Referencing changing work environments, he hopes that more attention can be paid to worker health. Some possible approaches could be through regular medical check-ups and having healthier meal options more readily available.

On a more proactive note, he also suggested the possibility of expanding the requirement for all companies to have a trained WSH representative to make WSH even more pervasive at workplaces.

“To encourage employers to build safer and healthier workplaces, we need to increase the economic cost of companies with poor WSH track record or performance as a deterrence measure… Insurance companies should put in place a tiered insurance premium framework under WICA (Workplace Injury Compensation Act), where beyond a basic insurance premium for WICA claims, companies will have to pay higher insurance premiums if there are many claims of the same incident nature,” he added.

Lastly, he also mooted the idea for a National WSH Training Academy to develop and ensure consistent WSH standards across sectors.

“The National WSH Training Academy can also double up as a Centre of Excellence for WSH. The centre can serve as a central registry of WSH practitioners, share industry best practices and showcase new technologies in WSH,” he said.

Ang Hin Kee: “Helping freelancers make their mark with training and welfare”

Focused on making a difference for freelancers, NTUC Assistant Director-General (ADG) Ang Hin Kee will be discussing how like regular employees, freelancers can also benefit from sustainable income growth.

“Whether through skills competencies or exposing them to international markets or sustaining them through clearer contracts, there should also be sustainable growth in their wages,” he shared.

Where their work prospects are concerned, he welcomed the new Global Ready Talent Programme and hoped that with deeper competencies, and clear contracts, there can be new opportunities for freelancers as well.

Regarding the area of protection, ADG Ang shared that he hopes to explore how the Government and other buyers of freelance services can send a stronger signal to encourage freelancers to protect themselves with an insurance policy, such as the Prolonged Medical Leave Insurance products available in the market.

Calling on the Government to take the lead, ADG Ang said government procurement practices should take into consideration freelancers who are insured and view them favourably.

“The Government could consider this as a plus point for the freelancers because they are making an effort to protect themselves. Moving in this direction can give freelancers the assurance that they can get better protection and factor the costs into their tender bid,” said ADG Ang.

[Read more: Learn more about the National Coaches and Instructors Association (NICA).]

[Read more: Efforts to help freelancers upgrade themselves and enjoy better work prospects.]

He is hoping the Government will consider topping up Singaporeans’ SkillsFuture Credits to help them acquire new skills to stay relevant and resilient.

Second on his list is that the Special Employment Credit (SEC), which expires at the end of 2019, can be extended to enable mature workers to stay employed and remain employable.

“Thirdly, we hope to see the continuation of the Career Support Programme (CSP) that will also end in the middle of this year. In the last couple of years, we have seen success and we hope that more PMEs, particularly mature PMEs, will be able to find support from employers and would-be employers,” he said.

Desmond Choo: “Internships for youths and more support for working families”

Assistant Secretary-General Desmond Choo is hoping the Government, together with companies such those under Temasek’s portfolio, can open up more internship opportunities for young workers to help them build experience and support their job search.

Another item on his Budget wish list is to have more opportunities for “learning dexterity”. He hopes the Government can extend more subsidies for courses to enable young people to pick up new skills and acquire additional qualifications that can help them take advantage of new career opportunities.

Where families are concerned, he reiterated his hopes the Government can look into making it mandatory for companies to offer family care leave. This would be a big help to both working singles, and young workers looking after their elderly parents and families with both elderly parents and young children.

He also wishes that more can be done to ease the burden of infant and childcare costs.

“We are committed to understanding the needs of younger Singaporeans and translating it into policies that will help them. So that they can develop and dedicate themselves to their jobs and also take care of their families,” he said.

[Read more: Youths get career insights through platforms such as Todo Todo.]

[Read more: How internships can help youths discover their interests.]

Zainal Sapari: “Sustainable support for vulnerable workers”

To better support vulnerable workers earning low wages, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) Zainal Sapari is calling for a relook at the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) mechanism.

While WIS helps reduce income inequality, boost take home pay and CPF savings for retirement adequacy, ASG Zainal hopes that the scheme’s mechanism can be changed so that payout amounts are based on qualifying salaries rather than both salary amount and age.

He is also calling for a review of the WIS cash-CPF ratio so that beneficiaries can benefit from a higher disposable income to address their immediate needs.

“I would therefore call for the cash component to increase to 80 per cent, with 20 per cent channelled to CPF – similar to the 20 per cent employee CPF contribution rate,” said ASG Zainal.

Building on the efforts that made the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) mandatory in the cleaning, landscape and security sectors, he hopes that more can be done to extend it to other sectors.

“NTUC will continue to engage industry stakeholders and study the feasibility of extending the PWM to other sectors so that more workers can benefit.

“As a society, we must help workers earn better wages through better jobs. No work is insignificant. Every worker must be able to earn fair and good wages for them to live in dignity,” he said.

[Read what ASG Zainal Sapari has to say about WIS and PWM in his latest blog post here.]